Thursday: 40 Iraqis Killed, 100 Wounded

Updated at 10:54 p.m. EDT, May 5, 2011

A significant blast targeting police just south of Baghdad left scores dead or wounded. At least 40 Iraqis were killed and 100 more were wounded in this and other attacks across the country. New developments concerning the Arab League summit meeting and the P.M.O.I. arose as well.

According to Arab League Secretary-General Amr Moussa, a much-anticipated summit meeting to have been held in Iraq has been postponed until next year at the request of Iraqi officials. The summit is now scheduled for next March. The turmoil in the Middle East had already delayed the annual meeting by two months, and many nations wanted to cancel it altogether. However, the meeting had become a source of pride for Iraq, which has not hosted the summit since 1990, and Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari insisted that security forces could protect visiting diplomats. Only a week ago, politicians were planning on nominating an Iraqi for the League’s top post, so the about face comes as a surprise. One possible reason is that Iraq criticized fellow member Bahrain for its crackdown on Shi’ites.

The United States offered a new plan for the fate of about 3,400 residents of Camp Ashraf. All of them would be relocated within Iraq before resettlement in foreign countries. Camp Ashraf has been home to the People’s Mujahideen of Iran for about two decades, but now Iran is pressuring Iraq to deport them. The United States cannot take them until the P.M.O.I. is removed from its terrorist blacklist.

At least 30 policemen were killed and more than 75 were wounded when a suicide bus bomber attacked a group of policeman who were in the middle of a shift change at a Hilla police station. Thirty of the wounded are seriously injured, so the death toll could climb. The vehicle contained 330 pounds of explosives and also caused significant material damage. Fortunately, the blast occurred before many civilians arrived for work in the heavily trafficked commercial area where the station is located. Al-Qaeda was blamed for the attack.

A bomb targeting a major general in charge of security for Asayesh forces in Tuz Khormato killed two of his bodyguards and wounded seven others. The chief was seriously injured.

In Baghdad, a blast on al-Nidhal St. killed one person and wounded three others. A defense ministry official was assassinated in Jamila. Four people were wounded in a blast in Zaafaraniya.

One civilian was killed and a second was wounded during a bombing in rural Abu Saida.

A sticky bomb planted on a policeman’s car in Abu Ghraib wounded him.

Gunmen wounded a civilian at his home in Muqdadiya.

In Mosul, a bomb killed a policeman. Last night, a doll loaded with explosives exploded at a restaurant and wounded three people. Several wanted suspects were captured. A suspected Islamic State of Iraq wali was detained. A woman was killed and her mother was wounded during a attack at her home. A blast killed two policemen and wounded four civilians .when a bomb targeting the police exploded.

A roadside bomb exploded in Mussayab.

Author: Margaret Griffis

Margaret Griffis is a journalist from Miami Beach, Florida and has been covering Iraqi casualties for Antiwar.com since 2006.